Effective Fire Protection: A National Concern

The purpose of this publication is to examine the extent to which growth threatens the effectiveness of public fire protection in the U.S. The publication also looks at some of the ways communities are working to keep pace with growth and improve protection for their citizens.

Challenge
Most communities consider growth a good thing. Development brings prosperity to rural areas, suburbs, and cities everywhere. And many parts of our country are experiencing extraordinary residential and commercial growth. But growth can also strain community resources. New construction, increasing population, and expanding economic activity place demands on a wide variety of municipal services — including fire protection. In many places, the need to enlarge and improve the fire service comes just at a time when other priorities are competing for the same budget dollars.

The results can be devastating. If the fire department, emergency communications facilities, and water supply can’t keep up with demand, a growing community faces increasing risk of property loss and injuries. The purpose of this publication is to examine — from a national perspective — the extent to which growth threatens the effectiveness of public fire protection in the United States. The publication also looks at some of the ways communities are working to keep pace with growth and improve protection for their citizens.

Solution
Property/casualty insurance companies have long supported the efforts of individual communities to maintain and improve their fire-protection services. ISO’s Public Protection Classification (PPCTM) program helps insurance companies measure and evaluate the effectiveness of fire-mitigation services throughout the country. The PPC program also offers economic benefits — in the form of lower insurance premiums — for communities that invest in their firefighting services. And the program helps fire departments and public officials as they plan, budget, and justify improvements.

Techniques
The publication highlights important findings from a survey of fire chiefs and other officials conducted for ISO by the independent research firm Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) of Princeton, New Jersey, and published in October 2003. ORC interviewed 500 top fire department officials from randomly sampled communities around the country. The survey examined current conditions, as well as developments likely to occur over the next three years. Read what the fire chiefs said.

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